Accessibility Help

Resources for Developers and Document Authors

Social Security Administration software developers and electronic content authors use a variety of accessibility guides and training materials to make the content provided on socialsecurity.gov accessible. SSA makes these resources available as a public service to assist anyone interested in developing and authoring accessible electronic content.

The Social Security Administration Accessibility Best Practices Library is used by agency developers and electronic content authors to assist with designing and authoring accessible electronic content. The Library is designed to be used as a set of voluntary implementation guidelines to assist with solving common accessibility challenges. Each best practice includes:

Alternative text can be applied to images, charts, diagrams, buttons, and other interface elements to convey information and purpose textually. Problems occur when alternative text is written incorrectly, confuses users, or does not provide the correct context. While the creation of alternative text is not an exact science, SSA strives to provide meaningful alternative text by following the practical guidance contained in this comprehensive reference guide.

On socialsecurity.gov, the agency aims to provide an accessible HTML equivalent of all electronic documents provided on the site. In situations where this is not possible, the agency's goal is to provide each electronic document in an accessible format. Whereas the Section 508 accessibility standards currently do not provide specific technical guidance on what constitutes an accessible electronic document, the agency uses the following guides to author and test Word, PowerPoint, Excel and PDF documents for accessibility.

When developing complex interactive web based electronic content, SSA follows the best practice of considering accessibility and Section 508 requirements very early in the planning and design stages, before work on development begins. This simple checklist can help designers of interactive web content identify and understand the accessibility implications of various design choices during early prototyping activities.

Requesting Assistance

General Assistance

By calling 1-800-772-1213, you can use our automated telephone services to get recorded information and conduct some business 24 hours a day. If you cannot handle your business through our automated services, you can speak to a Social Security representative between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Generally, you'll have a shorter wait time if you call during the week after Tuesday. If you are deaf or hard of hearing, call our toll-free TTY number, 1-800-325-0778, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. See Automated Services for more details.

Web Accessibility Problems

Please report website accessibility problems to the Social Security webmaster, webmaster@ssa.gov. In your message, include the website address or URL and the specific problems you have encountered.

Important Information:

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Disclaimer

The Social Security Administration (SSA) website contains links to websites not affiliated with the United States government. These may include State and Local governmental agencies, international agencies, and private entities.

SSA cannot attest to the accuracy of information provided by such websites. If we provide a link to such a website, this does not constitute an endorsement by SSA or any of its employees of the information or products presented on the non-SSA website.

Also, such websites are not within our control and may not follow the same privacy, security or accessibility policies. Once you visit such a website, you are subject to the policies of that site.